January 16, 2023
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Little Mark was at that stage. He was about three years old, the son of our friends. He was cute...until he would start asking all those questions! Guess what his favorite one was? (I'll bet you'll know!) "Why? Why?"
I only see him occasionally, and the last time I saw him back then I could notice his father across the room with this amused smile. It was as if he was telling me, "Hey, it's your turn, Ron. I get this all the time. 'Why, Daddy?'" We might say to his father, "Well, he'll outgrow it." But in fact, we haven't even outgrown asking "Why?"
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Not a Lot of Answers, But Plenty of Guarantees."
Our word for today from the Word of God. We're in the familiar words of 1 Corinthians 10:13. "No temptation..." it says. Which, by the way, in the original Greek word also means trial or testing. "No temptation (or trial, or testing) has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted (or tested or tried) He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
Now, I find nowhere in scripture a promise of answers to our persistent question, "Why, Daddy?" When trouble comes we say, "Why is this happening, Father?" God's tapestry is way too complex to understand with only earth eyes. I don't know what trouble or trial you might be struggling with right now, and I sure don't know why. But I do know four guarantees that God gives you in the middle of that struggle.
Number one: never past the breaking point. We just read it. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. He knows your limits. He'll take you to the breaking point (yeah, been there) to increase your spiritual weight-lifting strength; to increase your faith; to make you more of an emotional winner and champion. But He'll never take you past the breaking point. That's guaranteed.
Number two: never without God's signature. Look at what happened with Job. Job was suffering all kinds of things, he must have said, "Why, Daddy? Why is all this happening?" Now, we know this; the Devil had to get God's permission before he could touch Job. It's still that way today. If there's a trial in your life, it has been Father-filtered. God has signed it before it got to you. He said, "This could make you more like Jesus or I wouldn't let it come into your life." Never without God's signature.
The third guarantee: never without a hope door. It looks like there's no way out, but this says God will always provide a way out. You can't see one, but God has supernatural deliverances that you've never even thought about.
And the fourth guarantee, He guarantees never without His presence. That wonderful verse in Isaiah 43 says, "When you pass through the fire, I will be with you."
Corrie ten Boom had terrible experiences in a German concentration camp. She lost her family there. They were there because of helping to save Jews in the WWII. She said, "There is no pit so deep but God's love is deeper still." If you're a child of God who is full of questions about "why," your Father understands that. You may not get the answer to that question this side of heaven. But your Father's guaranteed: Never past the breaking point, never without His signature, never without a hope door, and never without His presence.
By the way, it might be that you've been weathering life's "why's" and storms and troubles because God is trying to get your attention, to help you get to the point where you will begin a personal relationship with Him and experiencing His love; the love that caused His Son to die on the cross for you. You could begin a relationship with Him today and never go through a dark valley alone again.
Our website is there to show you how - ANewStory.com. For He has made this promise: "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you."